Things I love

Shiva Foundation & Women for Change

Modern slavery has been described the great human rights issue of our time, yet so little is known about this hidden crime. In the UK alone, around 13,000 people are estimated to be trapped in various forms of exploitation. Shiva Foundation is a corporate foundation that aims to tackle and prevent human trafficking and modern slavery in the UK, by facilitating a more collaborative and systemic approach to making change. I’ve held an event with Shiva Foundation in the past, curated by my friend and incredible yoga teacher Leila Sadeghee.

Rani by Raja

I collaborated with fashion brand Rani by Raja on an event in May and will be doing more with them! I love the styles of the brands they work with but I also love that they pick the brands they work with very carefully, understanding the underlying subtleties of feminism in the branding, the boldness of their approach, and that they somehow question the role that fashion and style can play in forging closer connections across cultures and countries.

My New Roots

At my events and retreat, I often make this incredible life changing loaf of bread with my own variations (sometimes savoury masala and sometimes sweet banana and cinnamon). Everyone absolutely loves it! All the credit goes to the brilliant Sarah Britton who runs the blog My New Roots. And here’s the loaf!

Alan Watts

listen to Alan Watts almost everyday! He brings together Eastern philosophies, questions our place in the world, delves into our purpose here and the importance of living here and now in a way that is easy to follow, digestible and with a sprinkle of humour. The LA Times described him as, “Perhaps the foremost interpreter of Eastern disciplines for the contemporary West, Alan Watts had the rare gift of ‘writing beautifully the un-writable. Watts begins with scholarship and intellect and proceeds with art and eloquence to the frontiers of the spirit. A fascinating entry into the deepest ways of knowing.” You can listen to him on youtube, he’s written books and he has his own podcast.

Yoga Wisdom & Leila Sadeghee

My route back to healthful eating and wellness was yoga, which is why I love working with yoga teachers on events and I now hold retreats. I still go for regular yoga classes, but thought I would recommend a dear friend and yoga teacher that I really love, not just for her yoga classes, but also the wisdom and insight she offers both on her website and in class. Here’s the wisdom nuggets on her blog – she also holds immersive teacher trainings and much more!

Sound Bowl Meditation & Selda Goodwin

I discovered Sound Bowl Meditation around a year ago and fell in love! When people ask me what it is, the only way I can describe it is that it transports you to a deep meditative state without any effort, the music and sounds created by the bowls magically transport you to another realm of mind, and also create a state of intense relaxation. Selda Goodwin leads beautiful sessions and evenings in London and I’m VERY excited that she’ll be bringing her beautiful bowls to our Rajasthan Retreat this September.

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About

Mira Manek's desire for healthy cooking combines her love of traditional Indian cuisine with her mother and grandmother's recipes to create lighter, healthier dishes.